• Dates: Monday, 30 March – Friday 3 April, 2020
• Location: Kampala, Uganda
• Application deadline: 19 February

Thomson Reuters Foundation in partnership with the African Centre for Media Excellence is looking for Ugandan journalists who are motivated to understand how their country could be losing money via illicit means.

Wealth of Nations is a long-term engagement, and journalists who take part must commit to all elements of the scheme, signing an agreement to this effect. These elements include:

• Intensive training on reporting illicit finance
  • The first workshop will take place from Monday, 30 March – Friday, 03 April 2020 at the African Centre for Media Excellence in Kampala
  • A follow-up workshop will take place from Wednesday, 06 May – Friday, 08 May 2020 at the African Centre for Media Excellence in Kampala
• For selected participants:
  • The production of stories on illicit financial flows
  • A mentoring support scheme that will help produce these stories

Journalists will not be considered to have completed the scheme until they have completed all the elements, which for selected participants includes producing at least one story on illicit financial flows, and will not receive their certificates until this point.

Benefits of the scheme

• If selected, you will take part in two intensive workshops covering illicit finance, reporting on companies, accounts and budgets, and investigative techniques. The workshops will take place in Kampala.
• You will propose one or more story ideas that you wish to work on within the scheme – if you are selected, we will provide experienced journalists to help you pursue your stories right up to publication/broadcast.
• Selected participants will receive modest funding to help them realise their stories.
• You will have exclusive access to expertise through our network of illicit finance experts.
• You will also have access to story ideas and editorial advice and will be invited to share your own expertise with other participants.

Eligibility

We are looking for:

• Journalists who have not taken part in Wealth of Nations before.
• Journalists with at least two years of professional experience.
• It is an advantage if you are familiar with investigative journalism, reporting on finances and/or dealing with numbers more generally, but if you have a strong motivation to learn about and understand these issues then we will consider your application.
• You must be able to spend significant time working on illicit finance stories.
• Both freelancers and staff journalists may apply. Journalists working for a news organisation will need consent from their editor to take part. Freelancers should provide evidence that one or more media organisations will be willing to take their work.
• Journalists working in any medium or multiple media are welcome to apply (print, online, radio or television).
• Journalists should be based in Uganda and working for one or more Ugandan media organisations.
• Journalists applying must have fluent English.

Funding

Successful applicants will receive a full bursary that will cover accommodation, local transfers and meals.

Submissions

• Two work samples
• A letter from your editor consenting to your participation and confirming that they will publish any story produced through the programme. For example, the letter should say “I confirm that we will publish any story produced through the programme”. If the letter from your editor does not explicitly state this, we will not be able to consider your application.Please have these ready before you begin the form.

Please note that acceptance on the programme does not mean that your story proposal has been approved. If you are accepted, the story proposal will be reviewed by our editorial team before approval.